Chapter 25: Paintball is Totally RomanticNotes:Hey guys, yes this is Tuesday night but I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off tomorrow so it was chapter now or like super late tomorrow. And well, I'm thinking about it now.
Chapter TextWanda shared a confused look with Daisy before looking back to Darcy. "You want us to what?"
"Play drinking games, watch movies and help me fix Barnes's hobo hair. This evening, be there or be square. All that jazz." Darcy pointed at Pietro. "And you! I expect your presence, we need male backup."
"Uh.." Pietro seemed to shake himself out of it, stupid grin on his face. "Anything you want Beautiful."
Wanda sighed, her brother's terrible flirting was back then. But that wasn't even… "Didn't Barnes murder your grandparents?"
"He was brainwashed." Darcy waved a hand. "And he's human. Leaving him in the nicest solitary confinement known to man, except for visits from therapists and a lawyer for an entire weekend is dumb."
Wanda had to admit that wasn't the worst argument. Maybe she was just getting used to being dragged along by the Stark siblings? "Why us though?"
"Because he murdered our grandparents and is a super assassin who's like only a little way through having triggers removed. And between you three I'll be perfectly safe."
Daisy made a small noise. "That's not exactly terrible reasoning. In close quarters like that if he's as good as I think he is he could probably take me. I could slow him down but…"
"But with my powers to assist and Pietro to remove Darcy from danger we could handle him." Wanda finished for her.
Pietro rubbed at his thigh. "I'm still sore from saving Peter."
"Obviously, we'll probably just have a fun time dragging him from an angsty party pooper party." Darcy shrugged.
Daisy sighed. "Fine, Hunter stays with May and Peter if all of us are locking ourselves into the hulk room with Barnes."
"Already cleared it with my scruffy brit. Which not that I don't get it. I mean accent, he's reasonably hot. But Bobbie could do better." Darcy theatrically sat down in the armchair. "Now, who wants to paint their nails? Cause I look pretty in blue."
Wanda accepted she was going to be getting tipsy with a super assassin. "Well red for me."
"I could go black again?" Daisy seemed to consider that. "Or yellow? Is yellow my new color now?"
Wanda felt a flush as Daisy leaned against her. "You look good in yellow."
"Yellow babe." Darcy winked at them. "And Pietro, don't you think you'd look pretty in blue too?"
Pietro seemed to read the challenge for what it was. "I think I would be too dashing in blue. You might just throw yourself at me Stark."
"Only thing I'll be throwing your way is electricity hot stuff." Darcy leaned forward. "And my army of minions, we have the whole weekend."
Daisy cleared her throat. "About that, I may have told Detective Yuri I'd help her take down the Maggia crime families. So I have some groundwork for that to get started on."
"You…" Darcy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Younger siblings, you're all trouble."
Pietro grinned. "I know, they just find the most interesting of friends. I'm twelve minutes older you know?"
Wanda's powers swirled around her as she halted the spray of paintballs aimed at her head. She narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't nice."
"Nope." Daisy grinned and ducked back undercover before Wanda could chuck the paintballs back at her.
She twisted her hand, letting the paintballs she'd caught spin above her hand in a circle. Her powers stayed whirling around her. Wanda started to run, she'd been in one place too long. Jumping, her powers caught her, carrying her over the street down below. She wasn't sure how she felt about training involving running around buildings. It upped the stakes, and it made guessing where Daisy was going to come from a lot harder.
Huffing, she bent backwards, paintballs harmlessly flying over her where her head and shoulders had just been. With her right hand she threw the paintballs that had been picking up speed as they spun around her hand. They shot faster then they'd been coming at her.
"Fuck!" Daisy yelped as she dropped straight out of the air.
Wanda gave herself a second to just breathe. Shit, Daisy was getting better and better at not vibrating anything except what she wanted to vibrate. It made it harder to locate her.
"HEY!"
Wanda looked down at the gaggle of teenagers. She hopped off the roof, her powers lowering her slowly. "Yes?"
"Whaddya doing here?" A teenage boy chewing a lot of gum asked.
She tilted her head slightly. "Patrolling with Quake?"
"Can ya do a flip?" He asked, his accent was thick. Not that she could judge.
Wanda had never been asked that before. "No, not without my powers."
"That's lame." He booed, his friends grumbling in disappointment.
Daisy dropped down beside them on the sidewalk, her vibrations barely brushing past them. "Flips?"
"I can't do that. Though I have a feeling I will be able to if I continue to spend time with you and Spiderman." Wanda had already been pulled into 'helpful' stretching and strength training with Pietro.
Daisy laughed and then turned, she used the building wall behind them to run up and flip over. It was...really impressive.
There were appreciative oos. One kid, with an Ironman t-shirt bounced forward, sticking a water bottle on his head. "Can you kick it off without hitting me?"
Daisy did a spinning kick, sending the water bottle flying against the wall of the building. She looked at the kids with an amused look as they cheered. "Alright, now what are you four doing out here? I know you're skipping school, but have you eaten at all?"
"Ya not going to tell us to go back to class?" Their ring leader asked.
And Wanda couldn't help being curious about that as well.
Daisy looked at them. "Well, you should be in school. But I'd be a bit of a hypocrite to judge you for that. However, you know the hotdog stand down the block?"
"Yeah?" Ironman tshirt kid replied, face scrunched up slightly.
"Tell Mr Donavan I sent you and he'll make sure you eat. Now get on with you. And stay safe you hooligans." Daisy winked at Wanda before shooting back up to the roofs.
Wanda easily lifted herself back up. As she landed on the roof she walked over to Daisy. "Do you do that often, pay for people's lunches?"
"A bit." She leaned against the brickwork. "Didn't your brother steal to help the people in your old neighborhood?"
Wanda smiled while shaking her head. "I always knew he was going to get himself shot."
"Speaking of your other half, he should talk to Aunt May about work. They always need volunteers at FEAST, and they might be hiring. It seems like something he'd like."
Wanda settled next to Daisy, bumping their shoulders together. "He'd like that." She didn't know how to articulate her...just how much she valued this small family that had accepted her and her brother. What Daisy in particular's friendship meant to her. It was… "May I show you something?"
"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Daisy looked at her, head tilted to one side.
Wanda bit at the inside of her lip. But...she found not being able to communicate with her abilities left her unable to communicate sometimes. It was funny how integral they were to her now. They were an extension. "I mean show you." She let her powers swirl around her fingers, raising a hand.
"Oh." Daisy looked at her and then nodded. "Ok."
She hadn't expected that. But she was grateful for it. Wanda raised her hand slowly, giving Daisy time to change her mind. Her friend didn't flinch however. Wanda's fingers hovered next to the side of Daisy's head. The red light flickered, sinking into her. And then Daisy's eyes glowed red and Wanda shared possibly too much.
Wanda left her emotions bare. Affection, gratitude, that healing ache of loss, the purpose she was finding after the anger had been burned out, everything. The ugly things and the good. All of it. Just the honest truth of herself. An equal gesture of trust as the one Daisy had made letting her into her head.
Daisy's eyes, lit with the red of Wanda's powers widened, her mouth opening ever so slightly. As the red light faded all the way till it was just Daisy's warm brown eyes looking back at her, Daisy's expression remained. It wasn't anything Wanda knew how to read. Not without feeling for it and that wasn't her choice to reach for.
She lowered her hand and swallowed. Wanda felt she may have revealed more than she should have. This was...it could go so wrong. But it was done. And she didn't regret it all the same.
Daisy's eyes flicked across her face. Then she reached out, hand catching Wanda's face between her hands leaning in and pressing their lips together.
The breath caught in her throat. Pulling back Wanda pressed their foreheads together. "Are you sure?"
"No." Daisy had a sort of helpless laugh in her voice. "But I'm not going anywhere."
////
Bucky startled to his feet when the door to his secure room burst open. He aborted his instinctive reaction to vault over the couch and attack. Not a threat. Well...not the type of threat he was used to. But four college aged kids carrying boxes of stuff into his room didn't seem normal. He cleared his throat. "You shouldn't be here."
"Oh I'm very much supposed to be here." The curvy brunette who was leading the others replied. And oh that was Darcy Stark.
He took a step back, edging away. "Stevie didn't say anything about more than just you coming to check in."
"Duh, I didn't tell him." Darcy flipped some of her hair over one shoulder. "But let's be honest here, you murdered my grandparents so just coming in on my own seems pretty dumb. No offence or anything."
Bucky stilled and then had to nod. Actually, that one with the red sweater was the Scarlet Witch kid, and the one right by Darcy's elbow was Quake. And the man with them, he was the one who went really fast. "Smart, you brought people who could kill me without touching."
"Partially, also cause they're just part of the team at this point. And I looked at your schedule. I mean dude, you need a beer, some pizza and a night not about your tragic angst backstory. You rock the sad puppy eyes, but no one can only be sad all the time." Darcy lifted what was clearly a six pack of beer and set it on the table. "I even got special Norse mead for you."
"Norse mead?" Bucky repeated slightly dumbly. Because what?
Quake, or well Daisy moved forward with that smoothness of someone trained in combat. "We're not going to get drunk on you if you're not getting drunk with us."
"You want me to get drunk with you?" Bucky noted Wanda and Pietro setting down a lot of pizza, and oh that was more than just a single sixpack. He couldn't help how he categorized threats. Even if he'd had his arm he wouldn't be able to win. The others might only subdue him temporarily, but Quake's eyes said she'd put him down like a mad dog if it was required. Without hesitation.
Darcy shoved a glass into his hand. "Dude, you need some normality in your life. And we have some classic movies from your OG time. I'd say resistance is futile but that seems like something creepy asshole octo-fascists would say."
And well...he just sort of blinked. No wonder Steve just went with the pink hair thing. Howard's grandkid was a damn force of nature. "You are...not what I was expecting."
"What? Expecting weird facial hair and an impulse to shoot you into the sun?" Darcy pulled out what was definitely a jug of mead.
Daisy snorted. "Howard and Tony did have ridiculous facial hair. I wonder if the curse will strike with Peter?"
"He is at that age to experiment with terrible facial hair." Darcy pronounced. She looked over at Pietro. "You had some really dumb facial hair when you were a teen didn't you?"
Wanda spoke up. "He tried, I made him shave it. It looked like a dying caterpillar on his lip."
"I was a boy then. Now I am a man and have had my facial hair called ruggedly sexy." Pietro pulled out a tiny bottle of blue paint.
Bucky stared at them. He wasn't going to be able to understand this chaos. But..it wasn't Vision creepily looking in, or another therapist...and it wasn't setting anything off? So...maybe it wouldn't be bad?
Bucky felt himself loosening more than he could remember doing. It was warm and he felt sorta floaty. The film I Walked With a Zombie, had long since finished. The pizza boxes were mostly empty, and they were sitting around the table. And...he...he felt warm to be allowed into their fun. They all seemed so painfully young. Even if physically he fit in with them his soul didn't feel like it did.
"Right, my turn." Darcy straightened up, her shoulders wiggling slightly. "Never have I had super powers."
"Oh cheater!" Daisy protested, but all of them still drank.
Pietro brandished his fifth beer of the evening. "Ok, Never have I been a girl."
Darcy raised her middle finger at him while drinking. Daisy and Wanda both groaned as they did as well.
Wanda glared at her brother. "Never did I date a Hydra agent."
"That hurts. She was cute and there were not many options in Strucker's castle." Pietro grumbled while taking a drink.
Bucky was glad not to be drinking on that one. Only… Daisy was drinking too. He couldn't help looking at her questioningly.
Daisy lowered the beer from her mouth. "Grant fucking Ward. He was my SO in SHIELD, also Hydra scum. I emptied a clip into him, and stabbed him. Coulson had to crush his chest with his robotic arm on an alien planet to get rid of him. He was hard to kill."
Bucky tapped their drinks together. There wasn't much to say to that. Wanda reached out laying a hand on Daisy's shoulder briefly.
"My turn then." Daisy held his eyes. "Never have I been mind controlled to harm the people I love against my will." And then she drank.
Something unclenched in him as he drank as well.
"Does being lied to by an evil robot and convinced to assist it in destroying the world count?" Pietro asked, his eyes rather bleary.
Darcy leaned against the coffee table heavily. "No, cause you just got conned. He got whatever the fuck Hydra bullshittery drug, chair, torture nightmare. And she had an alien parasite in her head."
"Fine, well Never have I worked for Hydra." Pietro grinned stupidly.
"That's all of us." Wanda looked at her brother like she was considering whacking him. "We have all worked for Hydra."
Daisy's head tilted. "I mean SHIELD ended up as Shieldra. So that tracks."
"I'll have you know I never never worked for Hydra." Darcy protested. "I didn't let Hydra experiment on me and then send me out against the Avengers. And no Hydra kidnapping and brainwashing into a sexy murderbot. Oh and I said 'poo poo to you' to Shieldra." She beamed at them all. "Which means drink suckers."
Bucky snorted, he couldn't help it. He just couldn't and he laughed from deep in his gut.
"You're not shaving my hair off." He used his one arm to keep Darcy from approaching him with the shavers.
Daisy spoke up from where she was slumped on the couch, head on Wanda's shoulder. "I don't know, just give him a hair band and let him do the manbun."
"Manbun?" He looked between the sisters in confusion.
Wanda shared a look with Pietro. "Isn't that just a normal bun?"
"Yeah, but it's sexier on a dude." Darcy said solemnly. "You've got hobo hair Barnes." Her head lolled to one side. "We can trim some of the dead ends, give you some shampoo for giving it more body and if you pull it back into a bun in public you should be good."
He looked between the kids. "So I won't have pink hair?"
"Nope, but we brought nail polish. How do you feel about pink to match Capsical's hair?" Darcy brandished a bottle of the stuff.
Bucky...felt like this might have been what he used to feel like at the dancehalls before...everything. "Fine Doll, but I only have one hand so you're going to have to help me."
////
Peter waved into the camera on his laptop. "Hey, so uh what's our project?"
-"We have to write essays on a law or bill of some kind. Then we give a presentation on it in two weeks."- Ned explained from his end of the skype call. -"And we have to have a power point and everything."-
Michelle looked up from whatever she'd been doodling on her end. -"I think we should challenge ourselves and do it on the Boundaries resolution being argued about in the UN. It's relevant to our lives and actually interesting."-
-"I mean I think that would be cool?"- Ned adjusted his headphones.
Peter perked up, that would actually be useful. "Yeah that sounds great. I mean uh… it would be good. I actually read it the other day."
-"Interesting. Ned?"- Michelle asked.
-"Huh?"- Ned blinked. -"Oh yeah I read it after I heard about it. Seems kinda crazy to prevent international travel for enhanced."-
Peter sipped his juice, from the twisty straw. "You Michelle?"
-"Duh, I live for the countries of the world shooting themselves in the foot. And I thought I told you to call me MJ?"- She stared at the camera pointedly.
He winced. "Sorry, still getting used to that MJ."
-"You can do more of the research since you're at home."- MJ blew off. -"So we're against the measure right?"-
Peter bit at his lower lip. "Well uh...it's not wrong? I mean it's not about enhanced, it's about vigilantism and the Avengers. It let's countries protect their sovereignty."
-"You support it?"- Ned stared at him in disbelief, MJ's eyes had sharpened. -"But your sister is...well uh your sister."-
He frowned slightly, he'd listened to Daisy and Darcy arguing about the bill before. -"Well we can't just tell other countries they have to let our citizens in. It's like… with great power comes great responsibility. So shouldn't heroes follow laws? And there's a clausal exception for world ending threats. So if Loki opens a portal into France the Avengers can still go there and help without asking. They'd just have to have those actions tried after the event."
-"But the delay is going to get people killed?"- Ned's face scrunched up in confusion. -"They're heroes."-
Peter wasn't sure how to put his thoughts into words. He knew Daisy was nervous about legal oversight, but also accepted it was needed even if imperfect. And Darcy...Darcy talked a lot about the rights of nations, equality under law and international treaties. Also like horrifying ramifications if enhanced weren't treated like most people. Or well without defined exceptions. She was very passionate.
Which left him...well it affected him. "The UN has to do something doesn't it? And this one doesn't promote like imprisonment for enhanced who don't fall into line. Individual countries get to make their own decisions. Which in some cases is going to be bad. But it's their choice to make bad decisions. If that makes sense?"
-"So if a country chooses to let their citizens die it's their right?"- Ned spoke slowly. -"But that's dumb."-
MJ spoke up. -"But not without extensive precedent. Huh, the right to be stupid."-
Peter nodded. "I can pull up info. Like it's weird we're trying to take away international sovereignty but just with enhanced people right?"
-"But that would...it would let powerful countries take control of enhanced and force them to comply or be locked up."- MJ's straightened slightly in her chair, picking up a rubix cube and picking at it. -"The Accords would have given the US, Russia and the other members of the World Security Council the ability to police enhanced all over the world. They'd have a pet army of enhanced to fight for them or never get out of jail. All enhanced under the thumb of a few countries. Kinda diabolical."-
Ned let out a whistle of air. -"Holy shitnuggets. And General Ross would've had the Avengers."-
"So this one is...it puts limits but maybe they're good limits." Peter looked directly into the camera. And he was relieved to see his friends nodding along with him.
Chapter 26: Mad Science is DoneNotes:Sup!
Chapter TextDarcy was distinctly excited as she watched her version 8.2 fold out exactly as it should. "It's looking good Janey."
"The programing is running." Jane looked up. "Let's run test number two hundred and seventy six."
She picked up Sheep-E the sacrificial robot. "May you live and bring us the results we're hoping for. That or die well my little friend." Darcy solemnly set the robot in the middle of the portal base. Her array looked like clawed fingers from a hand the size of a lazy boy armchair reaching up from the metal base. It had a skeletal look, it needed some body work if it worked to look less super villainy.
"Sheep-E, really?" Jane looked over the computer at her.
Darcy winked. "He's our sacrificial lamb to the stability of our rainbow bridge. May his sacrifice not be in vain." She stepped carefully out of range of possible explosion and behind the reinforced glass next to Jane. "Ok, let's make a wormhole."
"Nothing snappy about how we might be going mad scientist?" Jane asked her, all fond amusement with brilliant excitement bubbling underneath.
"Hit the big red button Janey, we're making a wormhole! We passed mad scientist a while ago."
Jane hit the button.
There was a swirl of colors, the air being sucked into a wormhole of rainbows and then it collapsed into itself and Sheep-E disappeared into it. In the other room they heard Selvig start cheering. Darcy and Jane shared looks of glee. And ran for the other room.
Darcy laughed out loud as she saw Sheep-E sitting in the other room's containment lab. It wasn't even smoking. "Holy Tamales! We did it!" She sprinted into the containment room and slid to Sheep-E and picked it up. Oh it was beautiful. Opening up it's control panel she took a look. It was still running.
Darcy was giggling into her sparkling cider as she scrolled through the data on the effects the wormhole had on her baby. She plugged Sheep-E into her laptop. It would take a while to download everything. Spinning in her wheelie chair she pouted at Jane. "Why's it take so long! I'm talking with legal and PR after this."
"You're the one trying to bushwhack the government." Jane's attention didn't waver from the readings from their sensors in the testing room.
Darcy let her head fall back. "I need a time machine Janey."
"We're already bending space, theoretically time is a part of that." Jane mentioned.
Darcy blinked, it wasn't like she hadn't known that. "You know what, I'm gonna pretend I don't know that. The temptation, Janey. Should I thank Thor that I'm in engineering instead of your weird space science?"
"We're not inventing time travel." Jane paused, her head tilting the side. "Although traveling forward in time wouldn't be that big of a step from our current work. Backward time travel would be more difficult...but theoretically our work could be adjusted…" She trailed off as her mind no doubt ran faster than a human head should.
Darcy hopped up and forced a flute of sparkling cider and a pop tart under Jane's nose. "No time travel. Don't you want rainbow bridges?"
"Right, food for thought though." Jane sipped at her victory cider and went back to reading the data.
Her shoulders slumped in relief. "Almost created a monster there." Darcy patted Jane on the shoulder. Maybe check on the prototype again before meeting the lawyers? Yes. That sounded good.
Darcy dropped face down across the foot of Peter's bed. She let out a sound like a dying whale.
"Hi Dory, I didn't know you spoke whale." Peter lowered his gameboy. "You alive?"
She cracked an eye open at him. "Did you just Nemo me?"
"You would not be fishtaken to think so." Peter pulled an earbud out.
Darcy rolled on her side. "I'm so proud." She wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. "How's convalescing."
"It's uh going good? Finished my schoolwork for today. Oh! And maybe if it's cool with you I could help with the new suit I know you and Tony are making?" Peter turned the big brown puppy eyes on her. It was devastatingly effective even if he was a little shit.
She rolled onto her back, staring at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. "Duh, you gotta know what it's going to do. Not going to send you out with tech you don't understand. And know it's only your adhesive power and the fear of my fury keeping you out of a spider themed Ironman suit."
"But Ironman suits are so cool!" His pout increased somehow.
Darcy snorted. "Kid you've got like all the powers." She held up her hands and began to count off fingers. "Super strength, agility, spidersence which is just limited precognition, adhesive abilities, durability, healing factor, and I'm probably forgetting something. You don't need a suit to let you punch Thor. You need a suit so when the next werewolf scratches you, you don't end up as a doggy chew toy."
"At least I'm not feeling fluffy? Cause magic moon rock." Peter set his gameboy to the side and shifted. "For like an hour I was convinced you were going to have to lock me in the hulk room on full moons."
Darcy couldn't help but laugh at his face. "We'd have gotten you your very own muzzle and leash. Videos of you chasing your tail, take you for walkies. So many missed opportunities."
"You suck." Peter picked up one of the half dozen pillows May had stuffed onto his bed, and whacked her in the face with it.
She grabbed it, sitting up and glaring at him. "If you weren't injured Dumb Dumb."
"I'd be out of bed if anyone would listen to me." Peter's cheeks puffed.
Darcy raised a brow at him. "You'd be out of bed if you weren't a Dumb Dumb. However, my curiosity is killing me. What is the big box in the corner?"
"A stuffed spider the size of a labrador and a Starkpad." Peter looked at it with an odd look on his face. "I don't get it. Tony doesn't even talk to me."
She sighed, of course it was. Standing up she went and hauled the giant spider out of the box. "It's his way of showing he cares. He just doesn't know what to do about it."
"I mean..he actually does stuff with you." Peter's hair fell over his eyes slightly.
"Because I'm an adult he can't escape and who spends eight to twelve hours a day in his monument to his ego they call Stark Tower." Darcy dumped on the spider on the foot of his bed. "It took a lot of effort for him to process you're a teenager and not a mini adult. Sadly that's making him twitchy. But he does care, a lot. You think I was the only one in the lab making sure you have a new suit to keep you safe."
Peter twitched slightly. "What do I do with it?" He pointed towards the spider.
She reached out and wiggled it's mandibles. "Look at the adorable fluffy little mandibles! You love it and name it and accept this is how poorly socialized manchild disasters like Tony show they care."
"It's just…" He flopped back onto his pillows dramatically. "He was my hero. He saved me at that Expo and then he was just always there on the news and…"
Darcy sighed. "And you thought that meant he was incredible in every way, not just certain ways."
"It's dumb." Peter muttered.
"No it's not." Darcy disagreed softly. "You should probably prepare yourself for something truly ridiculous for christmas though. Personally I'm hoping Pepper restrains him and I just end up with a car."
Darcy waltzed down the stairs. She grinned at Hunter leaning on the kitchen counter sipping coffee while chatting with May. "Sup older people."
"Hey! I'll have you know I'm in the prime of my life." Hunter countered.
She grinned at the opening. "Just means you're peaking. All downhill from here."
"Well you're just nuttier than I thought, that's what that proves." Hunter blinked as a cutting board and several tomatoes were set in front of him. "What's this?"
May just continued to bustle around. "Start chopping, I know you're staying for dinner."
Darcy just beamed. "You are a legend May Parker."
"I don't know about that. But thank you. Now could you come and start washing the potatoes?" May went back to whatever was on seering over the oven top.
She rolled up her sleeves. "Sure thing. What are we making anyways?"
////
Yuri rapped her fingers against the steering wheel of the surveillance van. Of course Quake was late. She was starting to wish it was the vigilante who cracked puns and never shut up helping her this time. No, it would be worth it. Hopefully. If Quake bothered to show up. She was considering using her cellphone to call the number Quake had given her when there was a knock on the passenger door.
She looked over and internally groaned, junkie. And then the passenger door opened and the junkie slid into the van.
"I'm not a dealer." Yuri's hand rested on her concealed weapon.
The door snapped close and a familiar individual huffed. "You do know this van screams surveillance op right? What is with government vehicles basically having 'government' slapped on them?"
"Quake?" Yuri startled as she realized yes this was the hero/vigilante.
She had to be wearing a wig because she had long black hair reaching past her elbows. Dark, smeared on makeup, holey beanie on her head, fishnet shirt pulled over black bra, worn leather jacket swallowing her up. Her jeans were torn, old dirt embedded in the fabric. Everything about the woman said she'd slept on the street.
"Never heard of undercover?" Quake's lips curled up into a smug smirk.
Yuri made a 'huh' sound in the back of her throat. "You're late."
"Well this took a bit to get into." Quake shrugged. "So you have the bugs?"
She pulled out the case and passed a comm. "I don't know how you swung that warrant, but it came through."
"I'm friends with a Stark, money is magic." Quake put in her comm and flipped open the case and checked the bugs were all in place. And then started stowing them in the inner pockets of her leather jacket. "I dropped a line to Daredevil. Hopefully he'll distract the Maggia from our investigation."
Yuri took the case back, sliding it under her seat. "Are you good to go?"
"I'm good." Quake cracked her neck. "It's been a while honestly. I've got work at four though so let's get this done."
Yuri actually paused at that. "You have a day job?"
"You think I just jump around rooftops? You do know the closest to pay I get for that is a free churro or like Mrs Bak gives us dumplings sometimes." Quake looked at her like she was an idiot.
And...Yuri relaxed, huh, so the super hacker wasn't abusing her skills. It was...nice to be right about someone. "Stay safe, don't get clawed."
Quake huffed. "I got this."
Yuri chewed on her ham on rye sandwich. "If we bring in too many people someone will snitch."
"Weird to hear a cop say the word 'snitch' negatively." Quake dunked some of her fries in some ketchup. Without her leather jacket on, and beanie no longer on her head she was looking far more like a prostitute than a druggie. It was kinda staggering the ease with which Quake switched presentation. It had definitely gotten her into the sleazy real estate office without a hitch though.
She flipped the page in the file. "We still have to get access to one of the Don's offices. I can get a warrant with your magic Stark connections. But once we hit an office we have to have a SWAT team, others come in on the investigation and they'll know we're coming for them."
"I'm a specialist." Quake looked at her while munching on her fries. "We just have to 'rob' his offices. I can get through whatever gangsters are in there without using my powers. If we make sure the warrant permits me to just go in, I can go in instead of SWAT."
Yuri just...she hated secret agent bullshit. People shouldn't be able to do that. "You'd still have to get in and out without getting shot."
"Do you see what I'm wearing? They'll let me in. I get to someone important's office. Knock them out. Get into their computer system and loot the files. Then I can just walk back out." Quake laid out. "If we want to make a point I could go through and beat the shit out of a lot of mafia minions."
And well, there was a point to that. "We're not doing the second idea. It leaves you too open with no bullet proof suit."
"If you can find out what type of person would be allowed into any high priority locations run it by me. I'm not a long term undercover type, and hooker isn't universally applicable and it's getting cold out." Quake tapped a finger on the table. "I haven't gotten to do a valley girl in a while actually."
Yuri was thankful for a chance to stuff the idiot hero into a bulletproof vest under her clothing. It nearly gave her hives letting Quake plant the bugs in her current get up. "I'll keep that in mind. Let's see what we get from the bugs. There's a warehouse they're using. I don't have cause for a warrant but I'm working on it."
"I'll email you a chat link." Quake finished the last of her fries. "And I'll keep my ear out for anything useful."
"Same." Yuri held out her hand. "See you soon?"
Quake accepted her hand and shook it. "I'll message you later."
////
May hated writing grant proposals. It was dry, required perfection, and was so detail oriented. She was relieved to hear a knock on her office door. "Come in!"
A familiar head of white hair popped in. "Hey Mrs Parker, Wanda said you could use some help around here?"
"We could always use some help." She stood up and walked around. "It's good to see you here Pietro."
He grinned. "Well how could I miss spending time with a lady as lovely as you?"
"Flatterer." She patted his cheek. "Come on, we need help cleaning the kitchen after lunch."
Pietro easily followed behind her. "I can clean."
"Good, let's introduce you to everyone and there's some paperwork you need to sign." May led him towards their kitchens.
May sipped at her afternoon cup of tea. She was enjoying the melted puddle on her office couch that had once been a super hero. "Doing alright over there?"
"So many boxes." Pietro groaned. He peeked over at her. "Can you drive me home? I don't think I can walk."
She should have known. "You ran here? No wonder you're exhausted. You'll just have to come home with me for dinner. Hunter can drive you back after his shift guarding Darcy."
He gave her a weak wave. "You just bring us all home and feed us don't you?"
"It's nice to have a full house." May had missed that. Not that her home had ever been particularly full. It'd always just been her and Ben. And then Peter was with them and their home had been full and happy. But since Ben...it was good to have family. Family that wasn't just a teenage boy growing up too fast.
Pietro's eyes closed again, he was being dramatic about all the boxes he'd carried trying to impress Katie. "No offence to you Mrs Parker but I don't think I'd want to work here. It is good but.."
"Not for everyone all the time." She agreed easily. "Do you know what you want to do?"
Pietro was oddly quiet. "Is this what you always wanted to do?"
"Not at all." May smiled as he looked at her curiously. "I wanted to be a concert pianist. I was good, but I wasn't great. And then well, I got a job as a secretary at the community college. When this position opened I decided to take it and I like it here. The work I do here is important, and I'm good at it."
She looked at the young man. "I've learned something about you hero types. You need something a bit more high stakes than carrying boxes of canned food."
"I think I will come volunteer here though. Today was good." Pietro folded his hands behind his head. "Do you mind?"
May smiled, letting her chin rest on one hand. "Sweetie, we're always happy to have the help. Just remember to sign the paperwork I showed you."
"You're pretty awesome Mrs Parker." Pietro blew a kiss at her.
She outright laughed. "You young man are going to give me grey hairs aren't you?"
"Probably." He grinned, completely unrepentant.
May leaned back in her chair and looked back at her grant paperwork. It could hold a little while later. And it felt like the kid needed an adult to talk to. "You do know Darcy won't let anyone give you a hard time for living in the Tower right? There's no rush to find something to do."
"I know, I have learned she's as fearsome as she is fabulous." Pietro winked before falling more serious, his eyes focusing somewhere around the motivational poster taped on the front of her desk. "I do not like depending on Stark for room and board."
May sighed. "At least for now it cannot be helped. But ask what you want to do with your time. You're a hero, that means you may need a job that lets you have something without stakes to give yourself a break. Or you may want something that is heroic in it's own right. But that's something you have to ask yourself."
"You give good advice." Pietro sat upright. "Thank you it's been… Clint and Laura are good people. But he's…"
Her life had become so odd. "But he's friends with a man you hate and pretending to be retired."
"I wouldn't say hate...necessarily." Pietro spoke slowly.
"Hate takes time to fade sometimes. You and your sister have been through things I can't even imagine. You're allowed to have complicated feelings about it." May sipped from her tea. "And Tony Stark is...well he certainly inspires strong feelings in others."
May passed a mug of hot tea to Daisy. "So is there a reason you're not playing whatever battle royale game that the boys are playing?"
"Not feeling it." Daisy's hands curled around her cup of tea. Her eyes never leaving where Peter and Pietro were jockeying each other on the couch. "I talked to May, my May today. It's just been a while."
May moved so she was standing besides her honorary niece. She gently bumped their shoulders together. "She's your mom."
"Yeah...yeah she is." Daisy was biting at the inside of her cheek as she turned her head towards May. "Is that...alright with you?"
And oh. May reached out wrapping an arm around Daisy's shoulders. "You have so many people who love you! How could I ever resent that?" She squeezed, smiling at the suspiciously misty eyes of the girl. "Besides, I figure I'm just adopting a couple of nieces to live with me."
"Yeah?" Daisy's voice was wet.
May hugged her even tighter. "There's never too much family."
"Do you think I could invite some of the team to Thanksgiving?" Daisy asked hesitantly.
She smiled. "You'll have to help me find a bigger table...or actually we'll have to use the Tower. But that's more than fine. They're your family too."
Chapter 27: Is Blackmailing a Politician Bad?Chapter TextPeter chewed on his stick of licorice. He was tucked in on the couch, anytime he so much as twitched it felt like more pillows or blankets appeared. Daisy was curled up on the beanbag she'd dragged home weeks ago. Aunt May had just sighed over it when she'd spotted it. Daisy's laptop perched against her legs. Darcy meanwhile was cross legged on the floor adjusting the new web shooters. Bits of webbing lay around the carpet.
Frowning as he read through the specs on the new suit on his clunky laptop he broke the silence. "Why are there just chunks missing?"
"Oh the gaps in the code?" Daisy checked from her position, she nabbed a new redvine from the tub. "That's stuff Tony put in I cut out. We're not giving an AI access to something called 'instant kill'. Also the suit shouldn't be able to act independently of you."
Peter looked at the...many large chunks of programming just missing. "I can't really help with this."
"I know Itsy Bitsy." Daisy replied. "But I do need your A-ok on what we are putting into this thing."
He scrolled to web cartridges. The new set up would automatically reload, and would change cartridges based on type automatically. "Do you think I could make dendrotoxin webs?"
Darcy hissed as more webbing hit one of the lamps. "Tony's fucking systems are not built for this."
"Dendrotoxin webs?" Peter tried again.
"Kid that's your area of expertise, not ours." Daisy looked up. "I mean all the magic potions and chemical concoctions are your wheelhouse." Her head tilted to one side. "I could give you Jemma's number?
He perked up at that. "Your biochem friend you're always calling?"
"I call her a couple times a week." Daisy corrected. "And yeah she graduated with her doctorates at like seventeen. But she'd actually understand the chemical goop you make for your webs."
"She's got a point." Darcy chimed in. "Tony's and my options for webbing are mechanical, we're changing how the web is shot to create different effects."
Peter hummed. "That'd be cool. You're sure she'd have time to talk to me though? I mean she's head of the labs with SHIELD isn't she?"
"Would you take the time to help a six year old with their homemade rock candy experiment?" Daisy asked, sounding smug.
And yeah, yeah he would. Besides, webs were super cool. "Right, makes sense. Actually side question. What are we calling the AI? Cause it's going to need a name or else I'll feel bad."
"Eventually yeah, it'd be weird to call it a natural voice interface everytime." Daisy winked at him. "What do you think we should call it?"
Peter hummed, letting his head fall back. "Well...she was supposed to be like our babysitter right? Before you yelled at him? So why not...Karen?"
"I can give her a middle aged lady voice." Daisy agreed easily.
"Cool." He clicked away from the Karen program and back to his homework. They were actually on a rabbit trail of horrified realization that international sovereignty was a bag of cats and the Accords would have been a nightmare.
They were all busy with their various projects when Darcy spoke up again. "While I've got you here, we need to talk about our plans."
"I thought you said we were doing good?" Peter looked away from another article by a political scientist professor about the nightmare the Accords nearly caused. "I mean Tony's not trying to support a police state. Steve's back to chasing down Hydra leads, Barnes is in custody and awaiting trial, laws have been passed you wanted, Ross is in jail, the ATCU is in shambles, SHIELD's getting positive press like...what else is there?"
Daisy set her laptop aside. "You want to start making bigger changes?"
"This is why I'm the brains around here on this stuff." Darcy pulled a redvine out from behind one ear and stuck it in her mouth. "Our enemies aren't going to wait for us. We need to be proactive about stopping them. For instance flushing out the Maggia is a good call."
Peter scratched at the bandages around his calf. "Am I going to be able to help with that?"
"Duh, you're my partner." Daisy chucked a throw pillow at him.
He batted it away, but felt a pleased thrill. They were partners. He hadn't ruined it. "Well my partner isn't keeping up with the Spidervids. You've done two."
"I'll do more." Daisy grumbled.
Darcy whistled. "Siblings! Focus. We need a new set of goals, and Daisy keep spying on Tony. I don't trust him not to have a legal stupidity relapse while he's in Malibu. I swear that man needs so much therapy."
"I can do that. And the Maggia investigation is going to take at least another month to rustle up enough evidence. It helps that so far it's off books except for the warrants which no one's noticed so far." Daisy looked at Darcy with a slightly pleading look. "Don't make me do more interviews."
"Not yet, but if you could get me some leverage on the mayor, maybe a few senators that would be useful." Darcy let out a groan. "I'm going to have to start making inroads into society life...joy."
Daisy snickered. "Need some dancing lessons? I can do dancing lessons."
Darcy gave a pointed look at the webbing festooning the room. "Maybe next time." She grinned. "But seriously, PR people. Which is why I signed you up for something you're not going to like."
"What did you sign me up for?" Daisy groaned.
Darcy just looked smug. "Red Nose Ninja Warrior charity run. You run some obstacles like the ninja badass you are and SI donates ten thousand to a charity of your choice for every obstacle you complete."
"I mean I work at a ninja gym. It sounds super fun, but I'm enhanced?" Daisy protested, looking confused. She shared a look with Peter.
He didn't share her confusion just bouncing slightly. "That'll be awesome! And you control vibrations, not anything that would be cheating. Well if you don't use your vibrations."
"But...technically?" Daisy tilted her head slightly.
Darcy's chin tipped up in victory. "I'm a genius. And they already agreed. We're being proactive people."
"Uh besides healing what should I be doing?" Peter asked. He wasn't the hacker, or the publicly acknowledged Stark with a political science degree.
Daisy grinned. "You can help Yuri listen to the bugs we planted in the Maggia offices. You're going to have to take notes, organize audio files."
"I can do it!" Peter didn't care if it was boring. It was necessary.
Darcy beamed. "So I've been thinking, we need to set up multiple spots for 'heros'. Cause all of you living in New York is a horrifyingly terrible idea. Tony and Steve alone will kill each other if left alone for longer than a week."
"Steve's got an apartment in DC. And the trial for Barnes sounds like they're going to run it there so moving them down there just makes sense." Daisy shrugged.
Darcy gave a considering nod. "That could work. Tony needs more Malibu time, maybe he'll chill out, get a massage. Side idea, what are your thoughts on blackmailing politicians?"
"I was hoping you were joking about that." Daisy sighed, but then shrugged again. "But what the heck, let's do it. You're going power mad anyways, might as well speed it along."
Peter looked between his sisters. "Wait, you're serious? Aunt May is so going to ground us and Thanksgiving is coming up and I need my pie. Guys!? May's pie is important! And if we're grounded we don't get it! Guys!?"
////
Steve noticed that something was different about Bucky's room as soon as he stepped into it, Sam on his heels. He stiffened looking around the room. There was….it smelled like vanilla and there were throw pillows, twinkly christmas lights? What? "Bucky..what's going on here?"
"Howards granddaughters and those twins decided to stop by." Bucky was wearing a clean flannel shirt, the empty sleeve tied in a bow, his hair back and...were his fingernails pink?
Steve just…
Sam spoke up. "They railroaded over you then?"
"They're something alright." Bucky looked...less miserable.
Steve spoke carefully. "Darcy brought people with her to check in on you?"
"It was smart, I could have hurt her. But I couldn't have overpowered those three. And I wouldn't want a fair fight with that sister of hers." Bucky turned on the coffee maker.
Steve frowned, but huffed in amusement. "Quake? Yeah she kinda kicked my ass in the sparring ring."
"Not like that, she's like us. She's pulled the trigger. If I'd been a threat to Darcy she'd have put me down without hesitating." Bucky smiled tightly. "These new kids, they're gonna be something."
Sam actually looked interested and not just constipated. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see." Bucky chuckled. "You find any Hydra in Canada?"
Steve let it drop, for now. "Yeah we found some. Not much, it was a bolt hole more than a base. But the more we stomp out the more leads."
"Good."
Steve slowed as he saw Darcy coming out of Hill's office. "Dr Lewis."
"Capsical." She looked delighted as she looked up at him. "How's it hanging?"
He smiled despite himself, dropping his hands on his hips. "What's this about you having a party with Bucky?"
"Dude needs some socialization that's not all doom and gloom. Like I'd be crawling up the walls and I'm a normy not a recovering murderbot."
Steve laughed. "You are certainly not an average civilian. I don't think any of you Starks are."
"Fair, it's our dazzling intelligence and smoking assets." Darcy gave a cocky grin while crossing her arms under her chest in a very...deliberate way.
He felt his cheeks heating as he carefully kept his eyes on her face. "That's one way of putting it. But Darcy, surprising Bucky with people he doesn't know isn't smart."
"Dude needs some socialization. Don't you know anything? It's important to socialize your pets. Or in this case smoking hot boyfriends."
Steve sighed. "Darcy are you ever going to drop that? He's my best friend. And I'm dating Sharon."
"Your denial is cute." Darcy patted his bicep. "And you really should let things...fizzle out with Sharon? I like her, she's a badass but you two together is just sad."
He shifted slightly awkwardly, things had been difficult with Sharon. But he wasn't going to mention that to Darcy. "Darcy."
"Fine, fine I won't meddle. Just know I'm not meddling because we need the conservatives to like Barnes for the trial." Darcy flipped her hair. "And I'm off to go pick up the new Spidersuit."
Steve sighed. "Tell the kid hi for me."
"Totes Capsical!" Darcy waived over her shoulder while bouncing off.
He shook his head. Starks, honestly. Steve kept walking till he reached Hill's office. The door was already open, so he stepped inside. "Hill, do you have a minute?"
"Steve? Of course close the door if you don't mind." Hill was crisp as always, it was still odd to see her out of her SHIELD jumpsuit, but she made the lawyer look intimidating.
He shut the door and took a seat in front of her desk. "Security plans for the trial?"
"Finished, the trial is going to start in December." Hill raised a brow. "Did Darcy mention what she is getting PR to do for the trial?"
Steve felt a soul deep resignation. It was going to be crazy and probably leave him owing her more than he could repay. "She didn't."
"They're using the Stark stocks invested tv stations to push reruns of old Howling Commando specials, and rerunning the old Captain America cartoon." Hill clearly saw the disbelief on his face. "They're reminding the public of how much they love you, and by extension Bucky. It's kind of genius."
He always felt uncomfortable by how people had mythologized him. The reverence people looked at him with sometimes. "She's weaponizing nostalgia and my name to make Bucky sympathetic. That's...do you think it will work?"
"I think it's helping stack the deck. And it's terrifying how she's taken control of SI's lawyers and PR people." Hill flipped through digital files.
Steve shifted forward. "Is Tony going to keep letting us protect Barnes? The files the lawyers found…" He didn't need to bring up the fact Tony had blown out a side of the tower, gone for a flight and then announced he was going to Malibu the morning before Spiderman got hurt. It hadn't gone well.
"If he chooses not to, that's his decision to make." Hill's expression was sharp. "I know this trial is about a lot more than just him whether you want that or not. But no, I don't know of any plans for him to stop helping."
Steve flattened his hands against his knees. "That's...that's good."
"Are you going to stay here or keep chasing Hydra?" Hill asked, and oh she had an opinion, one she wasn't going to tell him. That didn't mean he didn't recognize her opinion.
He straightened back up in the chair. "Do we have a new lead on Hydra?"
"How do you feel about New Mexico?" Hill asked.
Steve's shoulders settled. "Lay it on me."
////
Wanda was reading when she felt the apartment rattle ever so faintly. She smiled faintly and got up. Moving to the window she swung it open and leaned against the sill. "Hi there."
"What up!" Daisy grinned, her vibrations holding her aloft outside her window. "Think you could let me in? I'm not great at holding height."
She watched as Daisy dropped an inch and laughed softly. Stepping back she waved Daisy in.
Daisy shot forward through the window, rolled across the floor and then popped back up to her feet. "Flight, surprisingly difficult. Who knew?"
"I'm pretty sure everyone." Wanda caught Daisy and pulled her in easily. Her smile didn't drop and she felt Daisy's own smile as they kissed softly. More a brush of lips than anything else.
Daisy pulled back slightly, her eyes bright and crinkled in affection. "Hi."
"Hi." Wanda hooked her arms around Daisy's neck. "What are you doing here? I thought you were joining Darcy and Jane for margaritas?"
Daisy just looked amused as she replied. "Darcy got a call and marched off. Pretty sure she's hunting down your brother like a prized pig. So margarita night is postponed."
"Do I want to know why she's hunting down my brother?" Wanda leaned back slightly, raising a brow.
Daisy's lips quirked into a smug look. "She got an invite to some society gala thing and needs a date."
"Date?" Wanda stalled slightly at that. Because what?
Daisy giggled. "She apparently must have a date for social reasons and that leaves the men she knows."
"Which leaves Steve or Pietro." Wanda was surprisingly relieved.
Daisy's smile turned smug. "Yup." She ducked in and kissed her. Pressing against her Daisy was insistent and solid. It was burning, but so were the emotions Wanda couldn't avoid if she wanted to. And they had the familiar consuming all encompassing flavor Daisy's emotions held just under the surface.
She sucked in a sharp gasp, and Wanda felt...she felt. Wanda pressed a hand to Daisy' chest and gently pulled away. "You're afraid?"
Daisy's eyes were blown but she blinked rapidly before stiffening. "I…"
"I'm not going anywhere either." Wanda felt the change in the current of Daisy's emotions at that. She didn't let go of Daisy.
And Daisy exhaled and seemed to deflate, her head falling onto Wanda's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"Um…" Wanda wasn't sure what to say or do to that. But she didn't want Daisy to leave. "Want to watch a movie?"
Daisy huffed. "Yeah, I could do a movie."
Wanda stuck her spoon into Daisy's carton of ice-cream. "You do know we watch American movies in Sokovia, yes?"
"Are you saying you've seen the magic that is Spy Kids before?" Daisy grinned while using the opportunity to steal some of Wanda's ice-cream.
"No, but I could have." Wanda hummed happily around her spoon of stolen chocolate ice-cream.
Daisy pressed an icey cold kiss to her cheek. "See, you just missed the classics."
"I don't think this movie is a classic." Wanda picked a fudge chunk out of Daisy's carton. "But did you have gadgets like these in SHIELD?"
Daisy cocked her head to the side. "Some? Robot look alikes, just got shot by those. Laser ring? Haven't seen one but plausible. Lots of secret doors though. Sunglasses with computer readouts very real, expensive and not widely used. Surprisingly I haven't seen jetpacks but that seems like something that exists."
"And enemies finding the secret base immediately?" Which that was ridiculous. "If it's been a secret for that long it's ridiculous the enemy would just show up."
Daisy shrugged. "Pretty accurate actually. As soon as you go to ground the chances of someone tracking you to your bolt holes goes up."
"Really?" Wanda looked at her curiously. It was just...nice to be sitting next to each other, shoulders leaning into each other.
Daisy hummed. "If you're going to a bolt hole the enemy is already too close."
"We should watch Johnny English after this." Wanda dug into her own carton of butterscotch.
Daisy laughed. "You've seen Johnny English?"
"Again, we do watch American movies in Europe. It's you Americans who don't watch movies from other countries." Wanda chided with a laugh, her eyes crinkling in amusement.
With a huff, Daisy took a giant bite of her ice cream. "That's fair, but ow."
She relaxed, letting her head come to rest on Daisy's shoulder while looking at the screen. This, this was nice. Feeling both her own and Daisy's contentment.
Wanda woke slowly, she blearily rolled further into Daisy. Part of her processed at some point they must have fallen asleep. There was a blanket over her, and she knew Daisy must have pulled it over them. She could feel that Daisy had woken up, but she was drowsy, an almost dreamlike quality to her. "Do you need your cuffs?"
"I won't have a night terror tonight." Daisy murmured back.
She tightened her arm around Daisy's waist. "Good."